


Wayfarers

by halocharlie



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: ... magic?, Alternate Universe, Angst, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Emotional Manipulation, Fluff and Angst, I just like how everyone thinks they're in the right, Internal Conflict, M/M, Manipulation, Maybe - Freeform, Memory Loss, Moral Ambiguity, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, c!Dream, c!George, except if the SMP was real, this is based off the SMP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:00:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28656885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halocharlie/pseuds/halocharlie
Summary: After directing the destruction of a nation, Dream has to flee. He doesn't want to go alone.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound
Comments: 10
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a 200 word post and wasn't even supposed to be a one shot- then inspiration carried me away. please enjoy and feel free to give feedback/tell me what you think!

Dream said that he was planning on going far away and living out in the uncharted territory of the SMP due to most people wanting him dead at the moment. He doesn’t want to go alone- he’s never had to live alone before. So, of course after the ash settles, he goes to Sapnap, stance apologetic. unarmed. Sapnap is a closed door, though, and frankly has to use every ounce of self control not to put an arrow between Dream’s eyes for even attempting to convince him to go out there and live like Dream hadn’t done awful things.

Dream half expected this response though. Once Sapnap had broken free from the threads of control that Dream had him wrapped around he was forever aware that Dream was manipulative. Sapnap was too intrepid to go back to Dream, had too much pride to give into the memories of chasing and playing and fighting alongside each other.

Dream knew Sapnap would do this. He just had to try.

However, George was always an enigma in the ways that dream would never know what he was motivated by. George wasn’t like Dream or Sapnap in that way - not willing to scream out emotions and motives blindly in battle. He was a brand of calculated and reserved. So, by this logic, Dream visited George next.

There was still rubble on the path leading to George’s home in the mountain from when it had been destroyed and rebuilt by the former king himself. Dream didn’t even know if George currently resided in El Rapids or not - but after seeing embers from torches floating through the windows, a pit settled in his stomach. It felt like butterflies, but had the sting of wasps. He stood stiffly on the doorstep, fighting back a shiver from the night’s cold.

George had every right to leave him out here all night, and to wordlessly stride past him in the morning and not even acknowledge him, only interaction between the two being George’s radiating distaste. Hatred.

But of course, the door opened and warmth seeped into Dream’s skin, not as violently as the cold. Sure enough, before him stood one of the people who helped to build the foundation of this world. The person he held closer, protected more valiantly, and had the hardest time pushing away.

George didn’t look physically different. However, his aura was guarded, which Dream never had to experience before. When they were alone together before, they both broke down walls that had been constructed so carefully to protect them from the judgement of strangers.

George held a sword in one hand, held at his side. Not wielded, but at the ready. And that struck Dream in a way he had never expected. Hurt melted his civility, and his stance softened.

“George.” it was pleading, quiet. Like they were surrounded by crowds instead of hills and meadows.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

Dream let out a shaky breath. “I have to talk to you.” This was a whole different person than the one who had disposed of an entire nation the day previous. This was Dream. This was the same person who had built the community house. This person stopped bickering between Sapnap and George with a fondness that couldn’t be matched.

George huffed a mocking, empty laugh. “Talk to me? Are you sure you’re not here to kill me? That’s normally the next step after betraying your best friends and becoming some crazed psychopath.”

Dream winced, the words hitting like shards of glass. This was George’s defence mode: cover the emotion with sarcasm and insults so that they hit a home run to the person’s heart.

“Please, George, let me come in. I won’t be long.” Dream hoped the gentle tone would be enough to infect George’s most recent memories of him, which had been him at his most violent. He hoped it would take George back to the days where they would daze in the fields next to the closest village.

Apparently it worked, because George pushed the door open wider, allowing space for Dream to enter the cottage. An opportunity, a chance. This was already further than Dream had gotten with Sapnap.

Dream shifted awkwardly, unsure whether to sit or not. He noted how George kept the sword by him, disappearing into another room and appearing with a bundle of sticks, adding them to the fire in the corner of the space.

“Sit. I’m still brewing, but I can listen.” George told him, and Dream perked up a bit.

“Brewing? What for?” He knew George wouldn’t be brewing potions to use in a battle, so the curiosity got the best of him.

“Health potions. Turns out, it’s hard to control who an explosion hurts.” The venom was intertwined in his words, and George held up his hands and forearms to show Dream several burns and scars. Dream had assumed the dried blood on George’s shirt was Sapnap’s, and that already hurt him enough. Now seeing it was George’s, it cut a bit deeper. George’s face held no trace of any emotion, and at that moment Dream just wished George would start shouting at him, screaming, hitting him. Anything would be better than him staring at him with that vacant expression, devoid of- anything.

That was one thing that Dream had never seen George do- lose his composure. He was silently begging for him to do it now.

“George...” he began, searching for an apology in his words as guilt enveloped him. “I told you to stay away. You knew it was happening.”

George did another one of those empty laughs, turning back to the stand which held the glass bottles of water. “Unlike you, Dream, I wasn’t going to leave Sapnap to go out there and lose his life.”

Dream’s memory flickered back to the day before, when he had watched Sapnap swing furiously at Technoblade from the grid of obsidian above. Out of everyone fighting, Sapnap had come the closest to giving them a conclusion. However, at one point when Sapnap had taken one too many arrows, George had to drag him to cover from the blast. Dream had specifically instructed Techno to avoid them, spare them if it came to it. So when Techno approached an unconscious Sapnap being patched up by George with his back turned, Dream fired a warning shot. The flaming arrow from the sky was enough to make Techno look up, and Dream narrowed his eyes. Techno took the hint, briskly moving on to fight the next person.

Dream blinked away the hazy memory, focusing his gaze back onto his friend. He swallowed thickly, “Sapnap has no interest in talking to me.”

“And what makes you think I do?” George questioned as he measured out a handful of nether wart before adding it to the top of the stand.

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

George gave him a look. “I know you would have stayed out there all night. You’re just the type of person to be that stubborn.”

Dream didn’t confirm nor deny, though they both already knew George was right. “It’s not safe for me here right now,” Dream continued, watching George light a spark to the golden powder. George dropped the metal utensil he was using to measure onto the counter, it landing with a frustrated clatter.

“Then why are you here?”

His tone was cutting.

Dream moved in his chair so that he was facing George more, gaze remaining gentle and voice quiet. “For you.”

George let out a sigh to himself, trying to mask it as bitter, but the shakiness of it revealed everything. He made his way across the room and sat opposite Dream. He tried to keep his stare and body language closed off. “You made a mistake coming here then. These walls may have burned before, but you lit the final match when you turned on us. There is nothing left for you here anymore.”

Dream knew that ‘here’ wasn’t just talking about this home. The home he had went to seeking safety and warmth, and that he was always given. The home he visited and was greeted with arms wrapping around him, which felt so much more protective than the embrace of armour, cool metal against his skin. Everything that he had given away was now just hitting him. Everyone he had turned against him due to his actions. “You would have died as king.” He murmured.

“You don’t know that.”

“The possibility was enough to convince me.”

“What are you looking for, Dream?”

His breath hitched in his throat at the question. How come it was so much easier to ask Sapnap? He pushed away the thought for now. “I want you to come with me.”

The silence rushed back in waves, and George stood up, returning to the counter with his brewing stand. Dream could only watch his meticulous movements. George was always in his element with this type of thing. His hands weren’t made to hold blades. They were made to construct, to heal, to love. Dream held his hands out in front of himself which he had unknowingly clenched. They were rough and callous, perfectly crafted for the hilt of a sword. To hurt. He retracted his hands back to arms of the chair.

“Come with you.” George repeated, and Dream nodded in confirmation. “You want me to leave my friends to go with the person who caused mass destruction over, what, plastic? You took my position from me.”

Dream stood. “George, I gave you the position without knowing the danger that it put you in.”

“You were my knight. You were supposed to get rid of the danger.”

“And I tried to do that, but I couldn’t always be there when I also had to monitor L’Manberg. I took the kingship away to prote-“

“Protect me, Dream? Really?” George turned to face Dream. “You know, you were right about one thing. I never cared about being king. I didn’t even care when you took it away. It was never about me being king, Dream. We both know that. You hurt us. You said yourself that you never cared about u-“

“I didn’t mean it.”

George narrowed his eyes. “Don’t lie to me. You know I hate that. You only care about those stupid fucking discs. So don’t even try to lie about wanting to protect me. You used Sapnap and I to make you look more powerful. It’s always about power for you!” He exclaimed, exasperation and anger now fueling his words.

Dream took a step towards George. “George, you were already helping Quackity with Mexican L’Manberg, which in itself was creating conflicts! It went directly against the reason I crowned you as king!”

“Whatever, Dream. The answer is no.” George approached Dream, now only a few feet of space between them. “Did you hear that? I’m sure you’re shocked. My answer is no. I’m not going with you. Now, get out of my house.”

And just as George was about to turn, a gloved hand grabbed his wrist, and he turned back to Dream who’s expression was now blank. The mask helped to cover his trembling features. “I didn’t want to do this. I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again,” Dream began, his voice already regretful.

George attempted to pull his hand from the vice grip with no luck, fear now clouding his thoughts. “Dream? Dream- let go. What are you talking about?” The bite that was previously in his words had left.

Dream revealed nothing. “I’m sorry, George.”

“What? Dream, stop, you’re scaring m-“ He was cut off as Dream brought his hand up and rest two fingertips on George’s forehead, and immediately his vision started to haze.

“Wait, no! Dream, not this again, please. I’ll go with you! We can go far away from here!” George pleaded, but he could already feel his free will being twisted. Dream weakly shook his head. “I’m only doing the best for you, George. This way I can protect you.”

Anger now replaced George’s fear as his body went limp. “You’re a cheater. We aren’t NPCs, Dream.” He seethed.

“Shh, just go to sleep. It’ll be over soon. You’ll wake up and realise you’re supposed to come with me.” Dream steadied George and slowly lowered him to the floor. George couldn’t fight the unconsciousness that was taking over him. “I’ll f-find out… and stop y-you…” Those were the last words George said before he fell into a sleep, and Dream shifted him slightly.

Dream got to his feet, staring down at his unconscious friend. The guilt wasn’t strong enough to stop him.

They would leave in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is quite dialogue heavy, i'm still finding my footing with it. enjoy!

The next day, George woke up before dawn. This was already out of the ordinary, as the sun was normally well into the sky before he was awake. A steady bang in the back of his head brought him a sobering start to the day, causing him to sit up abruptly and bring a hand to his hair. 

What had happened? 

He didn’t even remember going to bed last night, never mind falling asleep. He was thankful the sun hadn’t quite risen yet, as his eyes had well adjusted to the darkness of the room he retired to each night. As he lowered his hand, he noticed it had been covered with a strip of bandage. His other hand was the same. When had he hurt his hands?

He clenched his hands into fists and purposefully pressed firmly against the bandages, which he quickly reacted to with a hiss, as a wave of stinging pain shot up his arms. His eyebrows drew together in a frustrated confusion. He could sit on his bed all day and theorise about what had happened in the last couple days, but it wouldn’t be an effective approach. George slowly rose to his feet, only wobbling once he no longer had the support of the bed beneath him. He grabbed the frame to steady himself. The aching pain in the back of his head mocked him.

Maybe he had a concussion. It seemed like the only plausible answer with what he knew.

A distant clatter from another room broke him out of his thoughts. Instinctively, George bended awkwardly to grab a carefully placed sword from under his bed. Since his house had been broken into and vandalised, he deemed it necessary to keep such weapons about. The weapons didn’t keep the nightmares of raging flames and arrows away unfortunately. George held the sword defensively as he entered the living space, only to see a familiar figure standing over a dropped fire iron in his connected kitchen. 

The first feeling that came to him was relief, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if an intruder would have been a better outcome.

Dream picked up the fire iron which had clumsily slipped out of his hands minutes before, meeting George’s stare with raised eyebrows, pleasantly surprised. “You’re up early.” 

“And you’re in my house.” George stated bluntly, now setting the sword he had wielded on a nearby counter. “What the hell happened? My head is killing me.” 

Dream turned to face out the window which showed the uneven terrain with fields and valleys where George’s house resided. “You took a nasty fall when leaving L’Manberg. While it was being destroyed.”

In truth, George did remember the crater where the nation previously stood. He remembered the fighting, explosions, and potions. He remembered anarchy. Was he there fighting? With Dream and Sapnap? At some point during his cluttered thoughts, he noticed the dark splatters on his shirt. He pulled a face.

“Where’s Sapnap?”

Dream sighed, as if he were dreading the expected question. “Sapnap is… not here. He betrayed us, George. Don’t you remember?”

George snapped his gaze back up to Dream, who was now turned away from the window to face him. Sapnap betrayed them? For who? The person who could answer his questions was across the room, yet he still kept them to himself for reasons he didn’t understand. He vaguely remembers the feeling of betrayal. Not only did it hurt, but a knife in the back was a heavy weight to carry. Dream didn’t question George’s silence, he must have understood this was a lot to comprehend.

“I don’t- I don’t remember. Why can’t I remember anything?” 

“You’re concussed. Don’t worry, we have plenty of time to fill in the missing blanks on the journey.”

“The journey?”

Dream drew his eyebrows together, as if the answer was obvious. “George, it’s not exactly safe here. We may have never sided with L’Manberg, but with its destruction, we’ll be sought out after. They’ll think we had something to do with it.”

It was all overwhelming and didn’t make much sense to George in this condition, but he knew Dream was in a better state of mind to make these decisions. “Right, of course.” George muttered, looking around his home, feeling more lost than ever.

The sight almost made Dream feel remorseful. Almost.

Dream picked up an empty backpack from the table which he had materials and tools scattered across, tossing it to George. “Try and pack light, we’re travelling on foot.”

George nodded. “Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Far. I haven’t plotted it by map yet, but I think we should head West of the castle through the forest. It seems like the only direction which hasn’t been traversed.” Dream responded, vaguely gesturing in the direction out the window. “C’mon. We don’t have time to dilly dally.”

And with that, George returned to his room, almost feeling more confused than before. 

. . . 

Dream never thought it would come to this. Having to leave the land you built from the ground up to seek safety seemed unthinkable. But the weight on his back grounded him in his forsaken reality. At least he wasn’t alone. The pair were walking down the mountain where George’s house was, being careful not to slip as it had rained during the night. Even the universe seemed to be against Dream on this one. 

The wooden path that connected everything back to the Community House only went for about 200 metres West, then they would officially have left the borders of Dream’s land. The area was unusually quiet. Normally there was some sort of conflict or event going on, but on this early post-war morning, it was desolate. It was eerie. 

Dream was thankful for this, though. If anyone found out he had convinced George to come with him they’d surely try to bring him to his senses, or worse, try and kill Dream. It wouldn’t work, obviously, but it might be more startling to George (who was already out of it from his memory loss) to watch Dream take care of it. 

“Who’s that?” George spoke up from a few steps behind him.

Dream looked up from his feet to see pale figure clouded in yellow, allowing George to recognise them.

“Oh, it’s Wilbur.”

The ghost had been an annoyance, at most. Showing up at inconvenient times with a bright tone and aggravating obliviousness. Wilbur looked up from the lake surrounding the Community House, where he was feeding the fish, to see Dream and George. His expression immediately split into a cheerful smile as he gave the two an enthusiastic wave. “Dream and George! What brings you two to this side so early?”

Dream bit his tongue as they stopped in their tracks to speak to the ghost. “We were just leaving, actually.” He replied shortly.

“Heading West? There’s nothing in that direction for miles!” Wilbur stated in an incredulous tone, before realisation took over his features. “Wait, I get it. I remember you saying that you were leaving to go far away. It makes sense, honestly. I would too if I had done the things you di-!”

“Wilbur, could I speak to you for a moment?” Dream cut off the ghost’s rambling, knowing George would catch on. “George, you could fill up on water.”

George hesitated, eyeing the two suspiciously, before leaving with two bottles in his hands to fill at the lake.

Dream turned back to Wilbur, approaching him to close the distance. “Listen, George is struggling with his memory at the moment. You would understand that, wouldn’t you Wilbur? It must be awful. Feeling so out of the loop.” He began, carefully watching the ghost become on edge from the mention of his failing memory.

“Well… yes. It is quite bad at times when I don’t remember people. But George isn’t dead? He couldn’t have lost his memo-“ Wilbur trailed off, his eyes widening in understanding. He laughed lightly to himself, and Dream felt uneasy from that reaction.

“I see what’s happened here, Dream.”

“What are you talking about?”

Wilbur gave Dream an easy smile despite the irritation in his tone. “You’re playing your games again. That’s fine, I won’t tell.”

Dream bit the inside of his cheek. “How do you know?”

Wilbur laughed again, and it reminded Dream of the same laugh Wilbur had when he pushed the button. “You know when I died? I told everyone there was no God. And that wasn’t a lie, Dream!” 

Wilbur leaned in, lowering his voice. “I did see you, though.”

Dream didn’t say anything. He just stared at the ghost in disbelief, before taking a step back. “George, let’s go.” He called out, without taking his eyes off of Wilbur. 

Wilbur just raised his eyebrows slightly in amusement, before going back to the fish. 

When George had returned to his side, Dream made no hesitation to get back to walking, unnerved by the conversation. 

“See you later, Wilbur.”

“Have fun! And don’t worry, Dream! Your secret is safe with me!”

George caught up to Dream with a jog, allowing himself to fall into sync with the other’s steps. “What was he on about?”

“No idea. You know what he’s like, though. Always operating on a different version.”

“Hmm, I suppose.” And thankfully, George left it at that. Silence fell over them, leaving Dream to his thoughts once again. They had left at a good time. There might have been more people around had they left any later. 

He could have convinced Sapnap too. It could have been the three of them, together again, and far away from all of this.

Dream’s mind flickered back to the image of Sapnap slamming a door shut in his face. He glanced to his side where George was off in his own world, taking in the man-made scenery that he had seen one hundred times before. Somehow, he still look mesmerised.

Maybe it was better like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come chat/ask questions @halo-charlie on tumblr <3

**Author's Note:**

> come chat/ask questions @halo-charlie on tumblr <3


End file.
